


Stars

by undeadstoryteller



Category: The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26212528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/undeadstoryteller/pseuds/undeadstoryteller
Summary: For Stonegrot Week (Year 2). Day 1: Rian and Deet dreamfast together for the first time.This takes place late at night after the tribute to Brea's mother around the fire.
Relationships: Deet/Rian (Dark Crystal)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Stars

Rian was restless. It wasn't just that they were trying to sleep on hard ground; the day had been an emotional one. The small ceremony around the fire for All Maudra Mayrin had been healing. It had cleared his mind and allowed him a moment to privately honor his own loved ones, losses he didn't know if he would ever fully process. He had come so close to death over and over again since escaping the Castle -- a miracle he'd survived that itself -- that he barely felt like he belonged in a circle singing for the dead.

Surely, they should be singing for him.

That they weren't, he'd realized, came down to Deet -- the mysterious girl who had found him and was somehow always there when he needed warmth or courage or hope.

The way she had looked at him in the forest the evening when they'd met -- it was only a moment, but the feeling lasted longer. It had kept him going.

He shifted uncomfortably and looked over at her. The space between them was way too far. He felt like he was wasting time, something he could never be sure he had again.

She opened her eyes, as if she was aware of his thoughts. He blinked in surprise but didn't look away.

Deet had been stared at by other Gelfling since first coming topside, almost always scornfully. Except for Rian. He looked at her so differently than other Stonewoods she could barely believe he was from the same clan.

She wondered what he saw when he looked at her. All she knew was she felt like she belonged among the topside Gelfling whenever she was near him.

She looked over at Hup, sleeping soundly beside her. Careful not to stir him, she sat up and quietly moved across the ground toward Rian. He sat up, amazed, and moved toward her until they were face to face, inches apart.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hi."

She looked back, then back to him. "Everyone's asleep."

He put a finger to his lips and took her hand. Her heart skipped a beat as he pulled her by the hand to her feet and led her away from the camp.

"What if someone wakes up?" she whispered anxiously.

"They're more likely to wake up if we don't slip away."

She nodded, and looked down in time to see that he was about to stumble over a large rock in front of him.

"Wait," she said, pulling him back.

He stopped and turned to her. "Are you OK?"

"I'm OK," she said. "You nearly fell on your face." She pointed at the rock.

"Oh," he said, embarrassed.

"You really can't see in the dark, can you?"

It was true, but he could see well enough to see the warm smile in her eyes as she said it.

He felt for the rock, and was surprised at its size, large enough to sit on, which he did.

"Maybe we'll sit here," he said.

"I think that's a good idea," she said. "I don't want you walking over the edge of a cliff."

He smiled, and gestured for her to sit with him. She slid down beside him, looking up at the stars.

"I can't get over how beautiful the sky is at night," she said.

He followed her gaze. He hadn't considered the beauty of the night sky in a long time.

"I used to hate the stars," Rian said flatly.

Deet gasped and laughed quietly. "What? How can anyone hate stars?"

"Endless night details," he said, recalling his life in the Castle. "Oh, it was awful. You'd have to stand, by yourself -- the next guard would be about where that stone is over there. But you couldn't look at them, you had to stare straight ahead, all night long."

He pointed straight in front of him for a few moments, then closed his fingers into a fist.

"Were you being punished?" Deet asked.

"No, that was a guard's job. The patrols rotated, but night," he sighed. "Night detail made you hate the stars."

Deet considered. "I don't think I hate anything," she said.

"You should," he said, his eyes still fixed on the sky. "You should hate cruelty and greed and murder." He looked at her.

"Well, yes," she said. "Of course."

He sighed and shook his head. "I didn't mean for things to get heavy."

"No, it's OK," she said, taking his hand in hers.

After a few moments, Rian brightened. "Oh! There is one wonderful thing that would happen sometimes when you stared at the stars for too long," he said.

"What's that?"

"The sky would sort of explode into colors, just swirling everywhere, almost telling stories." He looked at her. "My father called it the watchman's mirage."

Deet blinked, and looked up. "Do you think we could look at the stars long enough for it to happen now?"

"You could try, but I think it requires a particular cocktail of searing exhaustion and deep-seated resentment," he said. "That and a good six to twelve hours."

"Oh my," she said, looking at him.

"And, see? Now you're looking at me. Back to square one."

He smiled and held his gaze on her until she looked away, her cheeks warm. She remembered her fathers talk about how they met during the war. They called their once-developing feelings for each other as _The Tension!_ When she asked what it meant, they told her it couldn't be explained -- but when it happened, you'd know it.

Rian held out his palm. "But I'll show you. Dreamfast with me."

"Oh," Deet said nervously. "Don't you need a break from letting all those Gelfling into your mind?"

He shrugged. "Sure, but you're not 'all those Gelfling.'" He paused. "You might be the farthest from."

Deet looked back toward the camp. All was still.

"OK," she said.


End file.
